As a 17-year-old I remember wanting to stab myself in the eye with my pen while reading Waiting for Godot which was an A-level English set text. I thought it flat, dull and incomprehensible, after all it is about two men waiting for someone who never turns up.
But then our teacher Miss Egan took us to see it performed at the National Theatre.
It completely changed my view of Samuel Beckett's play, and of theatre. Suddenly the words leapt off the page and it was funny and thought-provoking and sad and intriguing all at the same time. It is a prime example of why plays should never just be studied on the page.
But that was all 20-years-ago.
Late last year when I heard it was not only being staged at the Theatre Royal in London but that Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart were playing the leads Estragon and Vladimir and Simon Callow and Ronald Pickup were taking up Pozzo and Lucky I couldn't wait to get tickets. And on Thursday I fell in love with the play all over again.
'We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist?'
The cast were magnificent. Lucky only has one speech but the audience broke into spontaneous applause at Pickup's delivery. The biggest applause has to go to McKellen. It's the first time I've seen him play a comic role and dare I say it, he slightly outshone Stewart.
There was more than just the one spontaneous applause during the evening and McKellan and Stewart sparked off each other even turning in a dance routine of sorts at the curtain call.
If I could get another ticket I'd go again but it's sold out unless you queue for day tickets at the crack of sparrow.
Here are what some of the pro's thought. Particularly like the Whingers interpretation.
Independent
This is London
West End Whingers